Assessing Acceptability, Feasibility, and Preliminary Effectiveness of a Community-Based Participatory Research Curriculum for Community Members: A Contribution to the Development of a Community-Academia Research Partnership.

Julio C Jiménez-Chávez,Lydia Santiago,Axel Ramos-Lucca,Eida M Castro-Figueroa,Fernando J Rosario-Maldonado,Jeremy A Torres

doi:10.1089/heq.2018.0034

Abstract

Purpose: The community-based participatory research approach has been identified as a great asset in reducing health disparities through the integration of community members in all phases of the research process. It is essential to provide skills to community members to achieve successful research partnerships. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the community-based participatory research training curriculum for community members.Methods: Using mixed-methods, noncomparative design, eight workshops were developed and tested. Workshops covered topics such as community-based participatory research principles, health disparities, ethics in community-based participatory research, and fundamentals of research methodology. A total of 25 community leaders were trained. Pre-/post-test knowledge (unpaired t-test), retention rate, workshop satisfaction, and cognitive debriefing sessions were used to assess knowledge gained and acceptability and feasibility of the curriculum.Results: A retention rate of 100% and an average satisfaction of 92.68% were obtained. Preliminary effectiveness results indicate that there was an overall significant change in participant's knowledge before and after the curriculum (p<0.001). In the cognitive debriefing, participants were satisfied with the organization and structure and found the curriculum feasible. Furthermore, participants identified the skills acquired to aid in being more effective in their communities and work with academic researchers. The following changes were recommended: workshops' order, time, practical activities, and level of language.Discussion: Findings from this study suggest that the curriculum was acceptable and feasible to community leaders and that it might provide skills to actively incorporate community members in research activities. A large randomized clinical trial (RCT) study to evaluate curriculum effectiveness is recommended.

Highlights

Hacker et al defined community capacity building as ‘‘the cultivation and use of transferable knowledge, skills, systems, and resources that affect communityand individual-level changes consistent with public health-related goals and objectives.’’1 It is an essential component of and a guiding principle in communitybased participatory research, as it fosters colearning among all partners[2,3,4]; its importance revolves around the notion that capacity building leads to an equal
This same review, which explored the effectiveness of clinical trials that used community-based participatory research methodology involving racial and ethnic minorities, revealed that community partners most frequently were involved in participant recruitment and the development and delivery of interventions.[10]
An invitation letter to the forum was sent to 40 community members that met inclusion criteria: (a) be 21 years or older, (b) have completed at least a high school education, (c) voluntarily have consented to participate in the workshop training, (d) be a designated community leader of the Special Communities Program southern side, (e) express interest in learning about communitybased participatory research activities, (f) express interest in becoming a community research leader, and (g) express availability/commitment to attend all the workshops and complete the cognitive debriefing tool

Summary

Introduction

Hacker et al defined community capacity building as ‘‘the cultivation and use of transferable knowledge, skills, systems, and resources that affect communityand individual-level changes consistent with public health-related goals and objectives.’’1 It is an essential component of and a guiding principle in communitybased participatory research, as it fosters colearning among all partners[2,3,4]; its importance revolves around the notion that capacity building leads to an equal a Julio C. The capacity building of community stakeholders in community-based participatory research is to the mutual benefit of both partners, as it empowers community coinvestigators to foster greater collaboration and the shared ownership of research achievements and gives equal power in the dyadic relationship It supports existing and potential community-based participatory research projects.[9] The findings of a systematic review underscore the importance of building capacity to increase research literacy and of sharing knowledge in general with community members.[10] This same review, which explored the effectiveness of clinical trials that used community-based participatory research methodology involving racial and ethnic minorities, revealed that community partners most frequently were involved in participant recruitment and the development and delivery of interventions.[10] these community partners participated in the interpretation of quantitative research only 21% of the time and in the dissemination of research findings only 47% of the time.[10] These results could be attributed to differences in research knowledge, limited resources, and the capacity of academic partners to teach community partners the necessary skills to participate fully in the stages of research.[10,11,12,13,14]

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